Premier says China ready to bolster ties with Belarus

Premier Li Qiang said on Thursday that China is ready to continuously deepen political mutual trust and advance mutually beneficial cooperation with Belarus to promote the high-level development of their all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership.

When meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko during his official visit to the Eastern European country, Li said that China-Belarus relations have remained vibrant for the past 32 years despite the changing international landscape, and practical cooperation between the two countries has yielded fruitful results benefiting their peoples.

Belarus was among the first group of countries that responded to the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and participated in cooperation projects under the framework, which yielded benefits in various fields. With bilateral trade exceeding $8.4 billion last year, China is the second-largest trading partner of Belarus and its largest trading partner in Asia.

Li said that China is willing to better align its development strategies with Belarus, advance cooperation in all fields with solid efforts, and steadily expand the volume of bilateral trade.

The premier also called on the two sides to make greater efforts to implement projects such as the China-Belarus Industrial Park, a landmark cooperation project within the Belt and Road framework.

Before the meeting, Li visited the Victory Monument in Minsk and laid a wreath.

Lukashenko hailed the strong momentum in the bilateral relationship, saying that it is at its highest level in history.

Belarus sincerely appreciates China's long-term and selfless support for the country's economic and social development, Lukashenko said, adding that Belarus is ready to deepen practical cooperation with China in areas such as trade, agriculture and science and technology.

Li arrived in Belarus on Thursday morning after wrapping up his first visit to Russia as Chinese premier, a trip observers said further consolidated the foundation of practical cooperation and demonstrated the maturity of China-Russia relations despite external disturbances.

In Moscow, Li co-chaired the 29th regular meeting between Chinese and Russian heads of government with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, and also met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He told Putin that the steady development of bilateral ties not only meets the fundamental interests of both sides, but also contributes to regional and global peace, stability and prosperity.

At a time when the world is going through rapid changes unseen in a century, Li said that China will work with Russia to further strengthen multilateral coordination, and keep consolidating mutual trust and cooperation with developing countries.

Russia will work with China to further strengthen cooperation that benefits both sides, expand people-to-people exchanges, and carry out close collaboration within multilateral mechanisms, such as BRICS, in order to push for the greater development of bilateral ties, he said.

According to a communique jointly issued after the meeting between Li and Mishustin, China and Russia will fully tap the potential of bilateral ties and deepen and expand cooperation in key areas for the common benefits of both sides.

Li Yonghui, a researcher of Russian studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that China and Russia are expected to further strengthen cooperation in trade and the economy, particularly by promoting investment, and enhance people-to-people exchanges.

"Li's visit has not only reflected close collaboration between the two countries amid the current international landscape, but also consolidated the foundation for future cooperation, demonstrating their willingness and determination to carry out mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields," she added.

Qian Feng, an expert at Tsinghua University's National Strategy Institute and a senior research fellow at Beijing-based think tank Taihe Institute, said the premier's visit once again shows the international community that consolidating China-Russia relations is a strategic choice made by the two nations based on their fundamental interests.